Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long stout bills, belonging to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families. They occur in many regions of the world and tend to live in drier habitats than the related herons, spoonbills, and ibises. Storks also lack the powder down that those genuses use to clean off the slime of the fish that they catch.